A Simple Guide to Stress-Free Holiday Entertaining

Open houses, cookie exchanges, family dinners, New Year’s parties — the holidays are one celebration after another. Whether you’re hosting an event or contributing to a potluck, we have stress-free holiday entertaining ideas including easy appetizers, fun cocktails, and the perfect hostess gift.

Holiday Appetizers for a Crowd

Unless you’ve committed to cooking an entire holiday meal, a selection of appetizers is perfect when entertaining a crowd, whether big or small! The appetizer choices below won’t take you hours of prep time and you can find all the necessary ingredients from the vendors at The Markets!

Festive Holiday Cocktails

Start with a visit to your favorite local winery. Many of them offer limited-edition holiday varieties that add instant holiday spirit. Naylor’s Wine Cellar sells special bottles of Sugar Plum, Holiday Spice, and Old-Fashioned Apple wines throughout the season.

You can also turn a simple bottle of wine into a winter sangria with just a few extra ingredients. This is the perfect holiday cocktail for a crowd!

How Much Food and Drink to Serve

When you’re entertaining, it can be tricky to know how many drinks and appetizers you should have per guest. You don’t want to find yourself with too many leftovers but also don’t want to run out of food and drink too early in the evening. These general guidelines will help you determine how much to buy and prepare.

Appetizers:

If you are serving a meal, have 6 pieces per guest.

If you are not serving a meal, have 4-6 pieces per guest per hour. For a two-hour party, you should have 8-12 bites per guest.

Drinks:

Again, for a two-hour party, you’ll want to have the following on hand:

1 bottle of wine per 2 guests

3 beers per each guest

3 servings of cocktail per guest

3 servings on non-alcoholic drink per guest

Hostess Gifts

During the holiday season, your mailbox is probably filling up with invitations to parties and other events. This means you’ll need a lot of hostess gifts on hand. With a quick trip to The Markets you can find several easy ideas for hostess gifts that are sure to be well received. Try one of these:

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THE MARKETS AT SHREWSBURY – YOUR PENNSYLVANIA DUTCH FARMERS MARKET

The Markets at Shrewsbury is a traditional Pennsylvania Dutch farmers market in Glen Rock, Pennsylvania.

Our marketplace is centrally located, making us the best farmers market in PA – and we’re just a short distance from York, and even Maryland too! Our Amish farmers market is true to tradition – with local produce and meat stands, crafts and clothing, and some of the best Pennsylvania Dutch eateries around. From farm fresh produce to quality PA Dutch

market meats and cheeses, you’ll find exactly what you’re looking for at The Markets at Shrewsbury. Looking for authentic Amish arts and crafts? Our market is home to a wide variety of traditional Pennsylvania Dutch marketplace goods, like quilts and handmade wooden furniture. You won’t find a better market for all of

your home and craft needs. Whether you’re local or visiting Central PA for the first time, you can’t miss what The Markets at Shrewsbury has to offer. Our market is proud to bring our guests good fun and great shopping – The Way It Used To Be!